Energon Iva
by Feathersprite305
Summary: Okay, so I tried this story before, but I had to revamp it a bit in the absense. A re-telling of Energon, without Misha, and Kicker's just a bit different. Contains yaoi, insanity, and one of my OCs. Kicker/Ironhide.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, I tried to write a similar story earlier, but I lost interest in it. Hopefully that doesn't ring true for this version.

Ion: Ne ne. This is going to be different, isn't it?

Sort of. But also not really.

Kicker: If she were any more vague...(shakes his head)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Ion and Cooper. Transformers is owned by Hasbro.

STORY!

STARTO!

* * *

><p>It was dark, floating through space. Kicker was used to it, living in strange places, but on a rocket, bound for a destination to a place he'd never even heard of? The tiny eight-year-old was just a little on edge.<p>

He watched as the ship they were in descended onto the planet, hearing several voices whooping and cheering. Peering outside his room, he saw three teens chatting happily away. One was a tall blond, his hair spiking in several directions at once. Another was a very tan Hispanic boy, curly brown hair and a friendly grin. The last was a red-haired girl, smart-looking and lean.

"Hey Kicker!" He jumped when he realized the blond boy, Rad, was staring at him. He walked over and plucked the small brunette from the spot on the floor where he had been laying on his stomach. "What are you doing? You have run of the ship, don't hide in your room! We're about to land, so try not to be too scared of the Autobots. They're big, but they're also friendly." Rad said while letting the brunette boy squirm in his grasp. The Hispanic boy, Carlos, snorted while cuffing Rad on the back of the head.

"Why not just say they'll eat him?" Which caused the red-head, Alexis, to cuff Carlos on the head.

"Let's have something eat YOU, in that case." Rad and Kicker gave a short round of snickering, before Rad turned the tiny boy in his arms to face him.

"No matter what, Kicker, the Autobots are good. They want to help us, so don't forget that, okay?" Kicker nodded, and wiggled again, making Rad put him down. The sound of footsteps made him turn, and he brightened when he saw who it was.

"DAD!" The brunette cried, running towards his father and colliding with the man's legs. His dad laughed and reached down, ruffling the brown locks of hair. Wide doe brown eyes stared at him as the group began to walk towards the bridge, where an escalator of sorts was already set up to take them down to the surface of this new world. Kicker held fast to his dad's hand as they descended, staring at the skeletal buildings. His gaze rose to the sky, staring at a giant red face. He shuddered, clutching his father's arm tightly as the bottom of the steps got closer.

"Well, here we are, Kicker. This is Planet Cybertron." Kicker mouthed the word 'Cybertron', his lips working the word like a piece of food he'd never eaten before. Suddenly, loud banging approached them, and Kicker felt the urgent need to hide. His father set down his suitcase, and held his son's shoulders gently, making the boy look at him.

"It's okay, son. They're our friends. They're called Transformers, and they're here to protect us." Eyes that didn't even remotely look normal stared at them, bright and shiny, and scary. Kicker felt his stomach flip-flop as one of them stepped closer. They were big enough to squish both him and his dad.

"Dr. Jones. I hope your flight was pleasant?" The robot said, its gold eyes peering at them. Its voice was deep and soothing, but also stern and authorative. Dr. Jones nodded, and picked up his son, facing him towards the bot. It was giant, blue and red metal, with grey here and there, and it looked a lot scarier up close.

"This is my son, Kicker. Kicker, this is Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots." Kicker shook as he stared at Optimus, fear increasing every second those gold eyes were locked with his. Finally, his father put him down, and Kicker noticed Rad and the others a small ways away. He stood shakily, and darted towards them, landing on his rear when a giant hand put itself in front of his face. Optimus was holding his hand out to Kicker.

"Please be careful, youngling. The ground here has less traction than on Earth. You might end up sliding into a sewer drain if you aren't careful." The last part was an attempt at a joke, but Kicker didn't feel like laughing. Instead, he reared back his foot, and-

CLANG!

"AH!" Optimus clutched at his servo in surprise, staring at Kicker who was red-faced. The brunette darted away again, diving towards Rad and clutching at the older boy's waist. Dr. Jones laughed at the expression on Prime's face.

"Why do you think we named him 'Kicker' to begin with? He's a bit fiesty." The man laughed again as Optimus gave a sigh. "But he's a good kid. Just a bit too introverted. I'm sure that once he makes a few friends, he'll open up a lot."

Optimus stood, nodding. "Dr. Jones. If I may?" The man nodded. "You are needed in Sector four soon. Why don't I watch over Kicker and try to make peace with him?" Dr. Jones blinked.

"Kicker only kicks the ones he likes." The human said, grinning. Optimus took a moment to review that statement, before sighing again while placing his hand on his face. Humans were far too difficult to understand, he decided. Rad came strolling up to him as Dr. Jones took off.

"You said you'd watch him?" At the bot's nod, Rad jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Then you might want to go find him. He just took off out of nowhere." Optimus began to panic.

"KICKER!"

Opimus was only a few yards away from the boy, who had been leading him on in a chase for almost an hour. It consisted of hiding spots, turned-over bins, and several distractions, before they ended up in the trash zone. It was full of broken conducts, sharp metal pieces, and various other dangers, so when Optimus walked in throught the doors Kicker had opened he felt his supposedly eternal patience wear thin.

"Kicker?" A small noise, like things being moved. "I'm a bit old to be playing Hide-and-Seek, Kicker. And besides this area is off limits! So, if you know what's good for you, show yourself right now!" He used his authorative tone, hoping that the human would comply and return to him. He walked out to the cliff, over-looking the wasteland of junk. Too many broken things Kicker could be hurt by. "I just hope he isn't lost." He called again.

"Kicker! KICKER!" This time, he got a reply.

"GO AWAY!" He pin-pointed the location of the sound, and saw Kicker curled up in a little ball. "I hate you bots!" The boy spat. "I hate every last one of you!" Optimus froze mid-stride towards the boy, who was shaking. His spark ebbed with a small pity for the scared child.

"Kicker..." The sound of his voice startled the human boy, who turned and pressed himself backwards into the junk alcove. "Get away from me!" The junk gave way, and Optimus felt his panic surge again as Kicker disappeared from sight with a scream. He moved to dig the boy out, when a signal went off.

_'It can't be_.' Optimus thought.

Meanwhile, Kicker wasn't sure whether he'd faint from the twisting, turning, swirling ride down the chute he fell into, or if he'd hurl first. Finally, the chute opened up - to a giant black nothingness. Kicker screeched as he plummeted, closing his eyes and wishing someone would help him. A strange noise made his eyes open, and he saw what looked like ropes of blue light zooming towards him, wrapping around his joints and holding him suspended in the air. He hung there for a few seconds, confused but thankful.

"What happened?" The light that appeared in front of him startled the boy, but not as much as when it began to speak.

_'So, you are the one who discovered me..._' The voice was deep, but also calming, and almost sounded like more than one person was talking.

Kicker tried not to flip out as he spoke. "Who are you?" Instead of an answer, he was suddenly zapped with energy that, without causing him pain, flooded over him and made him panic.

'_I_ _find you humans interesting creatures, and I'm curious as to what energy source you rely on_.' A door opened up and in stepped Optimus, who went rigid at the sight of the ball of light.

"Kicker!" His sight went to the boy, who was staring entranced at the light. "What's going on here?" Suddenly, a voice sounded out beside his foot.

"That's what I want to know." Optimus looked down to see a girl, brunette, standing by his side. She had on a tunic decorated with upside-down hearts on the hem, and sleeves in the same style. A red sash covered in decorations looped around her waist. Her feet were bare, but she paid no heed to it as she strolled forward and addressed the light. "Primus, you need to release the boy. He needs to rest." The light complied, and Kicker was lowered into the girl's arms.

"W-Who are you? What just happened?" He began to struggle, but went limp when the girl held her hand to his face and it glowed. His eyes drooped, then shut as he fell asleep. She rocked him few times, glaring as the light faded from view, and turned to hand the boy back to Optimus. She smirked up at him.

"It's been a while, hasn't it Prime?" He stared at her gold eyes, filled with wisdom and spunk.

"It has...Ion." Several minutes later, Kicker woke up and began to cry. Optimus gently rocking his hand from side to side, watching as the boy quieted down. "Kicker, how are you feeling?"

The boy sniffled, staring at the bot with watery eyes. " Ah'm sowwy that I ran away, Optimus. I-I'm sowwy..." Optimus would've smiled, but settled on gently stroking the top of Kicker's head.

"I know Kicker. But you don't have to run away, Kicker. And do you know why?" The boy shook his head. "Because from now on I'm going to protect you." Ion jumped onto the Prime's shoulder, grinning at Kicker.

"And me as well. Name's Ion, kid, and from now on I'm your guardian prankster." Kicker blinked.

"Isn't it guardian angel?" He stressed. Optimus and Ion shared a look.

"With her, it's definitely more prankster." Optimus said, and Kicker had the vague notion that the giant bot had just rolled his eyes. He giggled at the thought, then clung fast to the bots hand as he began to stroll out of the junk yard and back into the city. "You see Kicker, Ion is a creation of Primus."

Kicker frowned. "You mean that bright light back there?" Ion snapped her fingers and pointed at him.

"Bingo! For whatever reason, Primus decided to meet with you, and it means you have been gifted enough to look upon the very source of Cybertronian life. Lucky!" Kicker faced forward, his frown deepening. He sure didn't feel lucky. Rad was probably worried about him now, if Optimus chased after him. And his dad! What would he think?

"Optimus..." The prime looked down at Kicker, who dragged his fingers over the uneven plates of the mech's finger. "Is my dad mad at me?" Optimus stopped with a frown.

"Kicker..." That tone usually meant yes. "He wasn't even aware that you had gone. Rad pointed out the fact that you ran off." What? Kicker twisted around to face Optimus.

"You mean he wasn't paying attention at all?" Optimus was surprised at Kicker's tone. It almost sounded...hurt?

"Kicker." Ion leapt down from her perch. She wrapped herself around Kicker, smiling as she felt the energy from Primus ebbing out to react with her presence. Whatever it had done to the kid, Primus had given Kicker quite the power.

"Don't pout, my little star-gazer. If he doesn't know, he won't get mad, will he?" Kicker looked away from her searching eyes. "Exactly. Now, why don't we go scare the other bots with the news of my triumphant return? I bet HotShot will freak when he sees me."

Kicker managed to smile.

[A[B[C[D[E]F]G]H]

Dr. Jones bowed respectfully to Optimus, holding onto Kicker as the group prepared to depart. Ion, who floated above them via her powers of electromagnetic energy control, smiled as she hovered towards the brunette.

"So, do you still hate Autobots?" Dr. Jones looked worried as Kicker thought about his answer.

"Yes." She nearly lost it laughing when there were several noises of surprise rose from the crowd around them. "I just hate Optimus less than the others." He said, turning his nose up and turning his head away. Ion did lose it, spinning dementedly while cackling. Dr. Jones smiled exasperatedly as his son walked up to Optimus. "I'll miss you."

Optimus leaned down, patting the boy's head with a single finger. "I know. But we will meet again on Earth. I promise." Kicker nodded, then let his foot bump into the metallic knuckle. "You better." Ion smirked as HotShot came up to her, snatching her out of the air.

"You're going to Earth. Why didn't you say anything before?" Ion shrugged, stretching her arms above her head.

"You know I hate good-byes. I just pretend that I'm going to take a vacation from hanging out with you guys." She replied. HotShot smirked, and was about to respond, when Kicker yelped clutching his head. Ion's head twisted like an owl's, and she actually shivered when Kicker's hair glowed yellow and the boy took off towards a pile of rubble nearby. He began to pull rocks away, not stopping even when his father called to him. Ion motioned to a couple of Constructicons.

"Start digging over there." When one tried to question her, a fireball appeared in her hand. "Do you want to be barbaqued robot?" They complied and after a few moments of digging straight into the ground, and a glow as beautiful as a sunrise on Earth rose up. Kicker and the bots backed away in shock, as they realized what they were looking at.

"Energon..." Ion muttered, staring at Optimus, who was in turn staring at Kicker. '_This_ _might be worth sticking around for.'_

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><p><em><strong>READ AND REVIEW<strong>_! Okay, not really a new story, but I felt the rge to give it another try.


	2. Chapter 2: And it begins

Here we go! Time skip to the beginning of the series.

Ironhide: Hey, I'm premiering!

Yes you are dear. As are a few new faces.

Cooper: I'm also in this chapter!

Yes Cooper. Yes you are. By the way, when I'm referring to a Constructicon, it's (')Con. When it's a Decepticon, it's just Con. The apostrophe is EVERYTHING. Now then, if I can start us?

C+I: Sure.

CHAPTAH!

STARTO!

* * *

><p>Ironhide walked through the hallways of Ocean City with an irritated pace. He was one of several new recruits to serve under Optimus Prime, the commander of the Autobots. Ocean City was an ironic name, because the entire facility was underwater. They were currently waiting for the signal that meant the city was rising to the surface. Once up top, Ironhide and the other recruits would stand on the deck of the city, present themselves to Optimus and HotShot, and be trained by two of the most powerful bots there were.<p>

While on his seventh time walking around the twenty-third level, Ironhide noticed a room with a large glass panel on it. There was an irridescent blue glow emitting from it and, naturally curious, Ironhide peered into the room with interest. At first, he didn't see anything, but then he realized he was not looking out into the water, but a room painted in inter-changing shades of blue. There was a large circular bed in the middle of the room, and in the bed Ironhide saw a human boy, with chin-length brown hair and tan skin. One of the boy's arms lay above the cover, by his side, and his head was tilted enough that Ironhide could tell he was asleep. He waved over a passing Constructicon.

"Who's that human in there?" The bot took one look in, turned his head to Ironhide, and snorted.

"You must be new if you don't know who that is." Ironhide felt a bit of irritation rise up.

"Then. Who. Is. He?" The 'Con glanced both directions, then leaned in.

"His name is Kicker. Dr. Jones, the guy who helped build Ocean City? That's his son." Ironhide had heard about the human scientist, but nothing about his family. "Kicker has a talent for finding Energon. Unfortunately, it leaves him so exhausted he'll fall asleep for long periods of time. Optimus had this room built to house him durings his little 'stasis' naps." Ironhide felt a small amount of confusion.

"Stasis naps?" The bot stared at Kicker, who continued to sleep, unaware of the two watching him.

"His naps can last from about two Earth weeks to almost three months, from what I've heard." Ironhide's jaw-plate dropped in shock.

"That's way too long! Isn't that dangerous for a human to sleep that long?" The 'Con shrugged.

"Between you and me, kid, he ain't really all that human. Kid can do things I've never seen another human pull off. He can do things you can only ever imagine of doing." Ironhide stared in awe at this impressive human. He turned to the mech.

"What are the chances he'll wake up while I'm around?" The bot shrugged, wiping off a wrench he had been carrying.

"Hard to say. He just fell asleep a week and a half ago, so if you manage to survive until next Tuesday, you might be able to see him in action." The 'Con walked off sniggering to himself. Ironhide spared him a raspberry, before turning back to the boy in the room.

'_Well_, _he might have powers, but what I'm impressed with is that this room was made by Optimus himself. He must be something special in that case_.' The new recruit stood, tilting his head from side to side to flex his hydrolics. '_I_ _wish he'd wake up so I could see what he can do_.' With that, Ironhide walked off as the signal sounded, telling everyone that they were rising to sunlight. If Ironhide had focused just a little bit longer, and stayed right he was...

He would've seen the hand, uncovered by the bedsheet, twitch ever so slightly.

[A[B[C[D]E]F]G]H]

The world around him was shifting blues, greens, and purples. He felt weightless, airy, light, and he definitely did not want to move away from such a comfortable state. Shifting around, feeling the coolness of the sheets he slept on, Kicker was fully content...

Until the sirens started blaring, that is.

His eyes opened to look around the room. The sound had pulled him from his state of bliss to a state of agitation. The blueness of his room never failed to calm him down, but he noticed that the dimness in the room was getting brighter. He looked upwards from the outside window and saw the surface fast approaching. Ocean City was being raised.

He sat up, yawning, and rubbed at his eyes. He swung his feet out from under the covers and walked towards the closet, throwing on a pair of green cargo pants, a red shirt, and a white jacket. He slipped on his red shoes, and brushed his hair slowly.

When he slipped out the door, he never noticed the red light that turned on inside the room after him.

[I[J[K[L]M]N]O]P]

"Optimus!" The prime turned at being addressed, seeing Demolisher running up to him in a panic. They were outside, waiting for the recruits from Cybertron to arrive.

"What is it, Demolisher?" The ex-Con panted for air as he hunched over, having run from the very base of the city to up here.

"It's Kicker! I heard his alarm going off, and when I looked into his room he was gone!" Optimus tensed up.

'_Kicker_..._why have you woken up so soon? Is it because the city was raised?_' The leader thought worriedly. He turned to Demolisher. "Go find him. If he's in trouble...Or, if he's seen trouble, we have to know."

The Con nodded and ran back into the main building. Optimus sighed as he remembered the first time something like this had happpened.

[FLASHBACK]

_Ion flew towards Optimus after the Constricons had dug up all of the raw Energon that Kicker had found. For once, she looked seriously upset._

_"Prime! Something's wrong with Kicker!" Dr. Jones and the other humans turned in surprise. "He said he was really tired, but now I can't get him to wake up at all! I think he's in a coma or something!" That sent them running. Kicker was laid out on an empty gurney used for Energon, snoring softly, but even after Rad shook him like a British nanny(1), he would not awaken. The humans quickly decided to take him back to Earth, but on the way back, about two Earth weeks later, Kicker woke up suddenly._

_"Are you sure?" Optimus was on screen, giving the human boy a worried glance. Kicker was playing with HighWire, a Minicon that had bonded with Rad. Dr. Jones and Ion were standing in front of the screen._

_"We're sure. He shows no signs of even remembering going to sleep." Dr. Jones reported, giving his son a confused wave as the boy looked up. Kicker stood up and darted over to the screen._

_"Hi Optimus! Did I really go to sleep for so long?" The prime nodded, concern in his optics._

_"You had everyone worried, young man." Ion scratched her head._

_"I think it has to do with that thing from before. The power that Primus gave him, to sense Energon, might be too much for him to handle. His body shut down, in a way, to replenish his energy." She stated. Dr. Jones nodded._

_"Because Kicker is human, not an Autobot, it makes sense. This detection power he has, it's amazing, but to have it at such a young age..." He trailed off, picking his son up into his arms and rocking him from side to side._

_Ion shook her head. "I'm sure that's not the only power Primus gave him. There will be others, maybe even more powerful than his detection. Who knows? One thing for sure, I'm sticking around to watch him. There's an off chance Primus tried to 'format' Kicker to be like me." Dr. Jones was silent for a few moments, before he looked at her._

_"Format? You mean, giving him the same powers? He might be like you in the future." Ion nodded, her gold eyes locked on Kicker, who waved to HighWire from his perch._

_"If that's the case, Prime, he may be in danger. Imagine if the Cons found out about it. We can't let anyone know."_

_It wasn't a case of 'letting' people know, as they found out once back on Earth. Kicker's detection went wild, and several prevously undiscovered Energon mines were uncovered, and cities were built to house the mining crews and teams of bots that swarmed the areas. After going through some trial periods, Dr. Jones and Ion managed to gain some solid understanding of how Kicker's powers worked. If the deposit of Energon was big, after finding it, Kicker would sleep for at least two months. If it was small, the time shrunk to about three weeks, maybe less if it was in a mine already plundered._

_Once Ocean City was established. Optimus had a safe room built especially for Kicker. It had a two-foot wall of glass that looked out into the depths of the sea, and was painted to match the colors. After sleeping for about two and a half weeks, Kicker awakened without warning and was several floors up before the bots found him. He was walking around in a daze, not understanding where he was. His father took him aside to explain, and after that Kicker just kept getting out without anyone knowing. Optimus finally had a silent alarm installed after the sixth time, when Kicker had almost made it out of the airlock. The boy was a magnet for trouble, it seemed. Not that Ion cared to help._

[END FLASHBACK]

Optimus stared at the main building, not letting his concern show wen HotShot came up to him, several recruits trailing behind him.

"Is it true? Kicker got out again?" The mech asked him. Optimus sighed, nodding.

"That kid is going to fry my circuits someday. But I sent Demolisher after him. He should be found within the hour. Hopefully."

[Q[R[S[T]U]V]W]

Outside of the city limits, perched on a cliff over-looking the sea-base, was a young boy. He had a telescope set up, and was looking through it, constantly swiping his orange hair out of his grass-green eyes.

He held up a recorder and pressed a button. "This is Cooper DeBellerio, student at Paberio College in West New Iacon on Earth. Today Sea-Base, also known as Ocean City, has just risen from its place underwater, and I am the first to document this momentous occasion. Why has the city been raised? Is it true that the leader of the Auobots, Optimus Prime, has occupied the city for ten years? If so, for what reason? As a reporter in the works, these questions are what I strive to answer." With that, he clicked it off and placed the recorder back into the small knapsack he was carrying. He proceeded to jump down from the cliff, onto the stretch of ground that led to the road, where an important looking car was heading towards the city bridge. Cooper ran out in front of it, watching the car stop. A red-haired woman stepped out from the back door.

"Are you trying to get yourself run over?" Cooper grinned, holding up a camera.

"If I say yes, does that constitute me a ride into Ocean City?" Alexis, the diplomat that she was, debated on it. Normally no one was allowed into the base-cities except the occupants already there, but she had the feeling he'd try to hitch a ride there anyway.

"I suppose so. But-" She said, as Copper began to cheer, "-If you get caught it's on your head, not mine. Got it?" He nodded cheerfully, getting into the back with her, mindful of his pack. Alexis shook her head, staring at Ocean City rising from the water gracefully. '_This is going to be interesting_.'

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><p><em><strong>READ AND REVIEW<strong>_! Okay, so now the time has been established, and people have been introduced, we can get the ball rolling in the next chapter.

(1): Family Guy reference. Stewie is so cute when he says 'Shake me woman, shake me like a British nanny!' when he's teething.


	3. Chapter 3: Bouncing around the stars

Gah! Update, update, update! Typing all the live-long day!(jumps)

Ion: Oy, any reason you're freaking out?

ION!(lands on her back) Have you seen Reki, or Ruka, or Reka, or any of your siblings at all?

Ion: No, but I'm pretty sure I have more than just those three.

DAMMIT! I need my muses! They're the only reason I update certain stories at a time!

Ion: You're the author, yet you have to actually LOOK for your muses. How sad.

Zip it, or I'll make you a valley girl.

Ion: YOU WOULDN'T!

Oh?

Ion: Fine.

In any case! Let's start this already.

CHAPTAH!

STARTO!

* * *

><p>Ironhide was practically shaking with excitement. He stood nervously in line with the other recruits, all optics on Optmius Prime, standing in front of them with grace. Next to him was HotShot, Ironhide's idol, and hopefully his mentor as well.<p>

"Have they found him yet?" Ironhide perked up when Optimus spoke to HotShot.

"Not yet. He might've gone outside, or even across the bridge at this point." The recruits gave scattered, confused shrugs, but Ironhide realized that they must've been referring to Kicker. He woke up? Oh, that meant-

'_I might be able to meet him after all_!' The young mech thought, his excitement doubling. Then, a comm beeped and Optimus put a servo over the panel on his head.

"What? He's where!" The recruits jumped at Prime's exclaimation, and the leader sighed. "Alright then." He disconnected the transmission and turned to HotShot. "Kicker took HighWire and is heading for the bridge. Pursue, and make sure he doesn't get to the land." HotShot saluted him and transformed, tires screeching as he took off towards the gate.

[[[[[[]]]]]

Meanwhile, Demolisher was standing outside, after having some Autobots tell him they'd take over the search for Kicker. He sighed, watching the expanse of the bridge connecting them to the land surface and interlock together.

"Nobody told me we were surfacing. Kicker might get out onto the bridge at this." He muttered, before a loud zooming noise started up behind him. He turned to see the human he'd been looking for, riding a Minicon known as HighWire, heading towards the bridge. "Kicker! You aren't supposed to be out here! And to think everyone's tearing the place apart looking for you!" The Con yelled, agitated that the boy held such little regard to others.

"I came out for some fresh air! Now, outta my way!" The boy replied, gunning HighWire's engine. Demolisher held his hands out, ready to pluck the boy from his ride. Kicker rode HighWire straight off the ramp, twisting in the air and blowing a kiss to the Con.(He really does, just watch the first episode) He landed on the other side, and sped off towards the bridge, before another loud zoom alerted them to HotShot, who screeched to a halt in front of the Con.

"Aren't you supposed to be working, Demolisher?" The yellow speeder said, revving his engine. The Con growled.

"You don't boss me around!" He shouted, turning away from the Autobot.

HotShot would've rolled his optics if he could. "Quit living in the past. We aren't enemies anymore, or did you forget that?" Demolisher didn't turn his head.

"You're still an Autobot to me." HotShot really wished he could hit Demolisher in this form, but...

"Whatever. I have to go get Kicker." He revved his engine and took off. "And get back to work!" He called back to the Con.

Demolisher was so close to throwing a fit now. "OOOOH! One of these days, HotShot! I'm going to crush you!" He yelled, swinging his arms to emphasize his words.

Meanwhile, Kicker was just a few feet from HotShot, who held fast as they went around the loop, the pavement still wet from the water. "Okay Kicker, party's over!" The bot called out. Kicker swerved his head just enough for the mech to see his smirk, and suddenly his speed went up as he slid into a patch of algae. HighWire trilled in alarm at the feeling of traction-less-ness.

"I don't think so, HotShot!" The boy shouted cheekily. HotShot growled, losing his patience with the human all too quickly.

"Argh! That kid can be such a pain in the rear bumper!" He said to himself, transforming and launching his body into the air. The boy looked back, and upon seeing no sign of the bot, let out a whoop and sped on. HighWire caught a large puddle of water, which fanned out from his rear tire like a curtain. Kicker spared a glanc at it, but was caught off guard by HotShot landing in front of him.

"Alright, wise guy, who gave you permission to raise the city? Or leave it, for that matter?" HotShot questioned. Kicker looked away.

" I didn't raise anything! And I had to get out of there, or I'd go crazy! I can't be locked up all the time, and you know that!" He shouted. His hair was held back by a cap he wore underneath the helmet, so he was staring straight at HotShot, his eyes darkened by the visor.

HotShot growled, his temper flaring up. "Listen, I'm the boss here, and you have to do as I say! Understand me?"

Kicker snarled at him. "You aren't the boss of me, and you never will be!" HotShot lost his patience completely and drew his gun, pointing it in Kicker's direction. The human automatically raised his arms.

"I've just about had it with your attitude!" HotShot snapped.

Kicker's face dropped into a frightened expression. "HotShot?" Realizing what he was doing, HotShot lifted his blaster away from the human, unable to understand why he'd aimed it at Kicker. Kicker was human, he was prone to outbursts like this, but not once had any bot ever used their weapons to threaten him before. Optimus would've pitched a fit if he'd seen this, his comrade pointing a blaster at one of the humans Optimus called family.

Kicker noticed how distracted HotShot was, and used the oppertunity to take off again, going underneath HotShot. He only got a few feet before he stopped, jumping off and clutching at his chest. HotShot ran up to him, concerned for the human.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kicker pulled off his helmet, and his hair began to glow softly underneath the cap. Kicker looked upwards at the sky, then back towards the city.

He smirked. "Okay HotShot, you win." The mech gave every indication of being confused, but nodded and picked up Kicker, wrappng his digits carefully around the teen's waist. HighWire gave a low whine and transformed, running alongside HotShot to keep up with the two. Once back at the gate, Kicker squirmed out of the yellow mech's grasp, and hopped onto Demolisher's shoulder. "By the way, just because you guys put an alarm on me doesn't mean I'm going to follow rules." He winked at the Con's agitated face and leapt back onto HotShot's hand.

[A[B[C[D]E]F]G]

Optimus was busy with training, having gone ahead and transported to Cybertron with the recruits after HotShot left. He proceeded to fling the new recruit known as Ironhide over his shoulder and right into the side of the building. Optimus watched as the mech slid to the ground.

"So, anyone else?" The prime asked, staring at the recruits who were eithered damaged, knocked out, or a combination of the two. Suddenly, from behind him, Ironhide spoke up.

"Yeah! I'll go again!" Optimus had to give the kid credit, he sure had lugnuts. "I'm ready when you are!"

Optimus laughed. "I like you, Ironhide. You remind me a lot of HotShot."

Ironhide looked as pleased as he did confused. "You-you really think so, sir?" Optimus didn't get the chance to answer, as at that moment the sirens went off yet again.

"Alright men, that's enough training for today. We'll pick this up tomorrow." Optimus said, dismissing them. He walked towards the base, hoping that HotShot had stopped Kicker in time. On the way inside, he was met by Ion, who still looked as young as she did back when he had first met her. Because she was created by Primus, she had no age, but by now he hazarded a guess that she was as old as he was.

"Hey Prime. Good to see you." He gave her a look.

"I know you were the one who had Ocean City raised, Ion. Was it you as well that woke Kicker?" She shook her head.

"No, I just had them go up. He woke up on his own. I'm not sure why, but whatever it may be, he's awake. I'd place a guess that something's gonna go down soon. And it's not gonna be pretty." She said, hovering upwards and looked down the hallway. "We've got some trouble coming our way already." She zoomed down the hallway, Optimus following.

They arrived in the meeting room, where several people and Autobots were waiting. Ion took up a perch on the banister on the left side of the room. She smirked, staring at the red face displayed on the giant panel in the middle of the room.

"What's up?" Rad rushed up to him, looking disheveled and flustered.

"Big trouble, Optimus!" Dr. Jones, standing nearby, picked up after the blond.

"One of our satellite cities has been hit by asteroids blasted by some unknown force. They also stole some Energon." Upon the last statement, Optimus lurched forward, already on edge.

"What?" Rad nodded.

"Carlos radioed in that our Mars depo was under attack." The blond said, pulling up a picture of strange looking bots, almost like Earth jungle cats but with cannons and morning star-spiked tails, digging and feeding on Energon. A giant ball of light appeared in the room, though only Optimus and Ion could see it.

'_What_ _an interesting turn of events. Don't you think, Commander Prime_?' It said. Ion watched the presence of her creator with guarded interest. _'Who would've thought Energon would be detected on Planet Earth?_'

"It's strange." Optimus said after a second's pause. Several bots nodded in agreement.

_'But what's even stranger is that we don't know who our enemy is. And if they plan on attacking us on Earth...'_ Optimus stepped back.

"Then I'll assemble a reacon team at once." He turned to leave, when Dr. Jones called out to him.

"Wait!" The leader of the Autobots turned to him, watching as he pulled out a small disc-shaped pack. Ion peered at it intently. "I have something for you." He held it out, and stared as Optimus sub-spaced the package. Ion jumped from her perch, somersaulted through the air, and landed on the Prime's shoulder.

Several minutes later, they met Jetfire and Inferno outside, and Ion leapt from the top of Prime's truck form into the air, tackling Inferno's faceplate in an attempt at a hug.

"BURNY! Did ya miss me?" She cooed, giggling when he tried to remove her from his face.

"Like a computer virus, you crazy person." The red mech responded, finally getting the insane girl off. She shrugged, then leapt onto Jetfire's visor, laughing when he did nothing except ignore her presence.

"So, uh, what's the scoop sir? Me and my boys are starting to rust away, because it's been so slow around here." Jetfire said to Optimus. The Prime transformed and laughed.

"You always crack me up, Jetfire." Optimus reached out and Ion leapt onto his hand. Inferno turned to them. "Well, we've got a mission, and that includes you Inferno." The mech in question nodded, looking up at the sky. "I heard there's a situation on Earth sir."

Optimus nodded. "That's right. But first, we have to make a stop at our space-bridge on Mars." Jetfire turned to him.

"To assess the enemy, sir?"

Optimus nodded. "Yes, now let's move out-" They were stopped by a voice calling out to them.

"Hey! Wait up!" It was the mech Optimus had thrown earlier, Ironhide. Ion back-flipped through the air, staring at the expanse of sky that covered Cybertron. Whatever the mech had to say, she wasn't interested.

"What now, Ironhide?" Optimus said almost impatiently. They couldn't afford to be held up. Ironhide recovered his energy and straightened up.

"You gotta take me, sir. I wanna go on this mission." Ion flipped over, staring at the mech. Jetfire snickered.

"Wanna learn from the best, huh kid?" He held his hand out in emphasis of his words. "Well, I hope you understand that this isn't just a game."

Ironhide gritted his mouth plate. "Okay, I know I'm a rookie, Optimus, but...but I wanna see some action-" Jetfire cut him off quickly. "You uploaded your Spark of Commodation, Ironhide?" The mech had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Well, no not yet, but-but I can!" Ion closed her eyes, shaking her head. Another young bot who thought he had what it took to be a hero. Optimus turned and began to walk away.

"It's your decision Jetfire." The mech managed to look bewildered, even without an expressive face, and sighed.

"Uh! Okay, come on." Ion laughed, floating down to properly look at Ironhide. He stared at her in the same way someone would examine a flawlessly cut crystal.

"Who are you?" He said breathlessly, and Ion curtsied in the air. Jetfire gave a small, dry laugh.

"She's pure trouble. This is Ion, a being created by Primus and sent to aid us during the battle on Earth with Megatron. She's very powerful, so try not to upset her." Ion floated down and let her feet rest on the outstretched tips of Ironhide's fingers.

"I am Ion of Primus, young mechling. And you are?" Ironhide stared at her, optics wide, before Inferno smacked the back of his helm.

"I-I'm Ironhide, miss. Did Primus really create you?" She nodded, taking to the air and following after Optimus.

"Yes. In a way, I suppose you can see me as either a deity or a sibling. You see, Primus knew that Optimus would need help after awakening on Earth, and created me to take down Megatron. Though I do like beating up those creep Decepticons, my human affiliation has made me fun-loving and wild." She halted in front of him. "The technical term for my type is Interstellar Vigorous Ascendant, or IVA for short." Ironhide blinked.

"Your type? You mean there's more of you?" Ion cast a look to Optimus, who after a moment nodded.

"Have you heard of Kicker Jones?" Ironhide brightened.

"Yeah! I saw him sleeping in that room back in Ocean City!" Both Optimus and Ion froze; He had to have been the catalyst for Kicker's awakening. "You mean he's an IVA too?"

Optimus nodded. "Although Ion can't sense Energon like Kicker can, both are valuable assets to the Autobots." Inferno sighed. "That's why we can't blast either of them." Ironhide gave the older mech a stunned look.

"Seriously? I thought you were on our side!" He exclaimed to Ion. She shrugged, stretching her arms.

"Honestly, I'm surprised no one has yet to fire at me, considering how much I piss them off on a daily basis." Ironhide looked to Optimus to help him gain a bit of understanding, but the Prime only shrugged.

"Ion is...not very good at interaction beyond destroying things. She does relate to Kicker a lot, though, so if you can stand him, you can stand Ion." The tiny girl flew up and stuck her tongue out at him. He swatted at her, and straightened. "All units, transform!" They assumed vehicle mode and stood at the ready. Ion attached herself to Optimus, creating a shiny bubble-like barrier around her body. She felt Ironhide staring at her, and threw him a wink and grin. "Rad, open the gates."

Back up in the tower, Rad responded to Optimus quickly. "Roger that, Optimus. I'm all over it." Several machines resembling cannons lit up, and fired at one point where a wormhole opened up. Rad spoke to Dr. Jones, who stood next to him.

"Dr. Jones? Is Ironhide going with them?" The brunette man watched as the Autobots prepared to take off.

"It looks like it. Yeah." Down with the bots, Ion squirmed; she was getting antsy, eager to get back to Kicker.

"Roll out!" Ion gave a small shriek as they drove off, going up a ramp to the space-bridge. It was almost like being on a roller-coaster. Only she was the only one insane enough and powerful enough to do so. One by one, they hit the energy field of the bridge, and Ion gave a round of excited yipping noises as they reappeared inside a tunnel comprised completely of energy. They turned at a corner so fast they went sliding on their tires.

"Man, this great!" Ironhide burst out. Ion cackled when Jetfire responded with 'Just zip it!" to the newbie. She looked back at the bot.

"Never gets old!" She chirped.

* * *

><p><em><strong>READ AND REVIEW<strong>_! Oh man, things are gonna get good in the next chapter! I searched for at least ten minutes for the terms used for IVA. Originally, the term was supposed to be All Powerful Energy Bitch, but I realized that probably wouldn't fit.

**I**nterstellar- the whole space thing.  
><strong><span>V<span>**igorous- a synonym for energy-based.  
><strong>A<strong>scendant- a synonym for powerful being.

So, in the chapter, we'll see more of the original plot. Yes, Ion is able to pass through the space-bridge unharmed, because PRIMUS made her. She's part of my Sister's group, the info on which will be posted on my page soon.


	4. Chapter 4: The Battle

BA-BA-BA-BOOM!

Kicker: What the heck?

Heehee, I love making random noises.

Cooper: I make another appearance!

Nobody cares! (Throws him at Demolisher)

Demolisher: Hey!What is it with people throwing things at me?

It's fun.

CHAPTAH!

STARTO!

* * *

><p>On Mars, above a large cliff over-looking the Autobot base, a giant bubble of light appeared, and four large figures came hurtling out of it, flying through the air towards the ground below. Ion hopped off of Optimus, turning around and jabbering so fast Ironhide was worried she'd bite her tongue.<p>

"Transform!" The bots changed back into their bipedal modes, and landed with loud clangs on the surface. Ion floated down and flew after them as they approached the edge of the cliff. Ion touched down, wincing at the feel of alien sand on the pads of her feet as they looked out at a crater that still billowed black smoke into the air.

"Well men, here we are. Mars." Ironhide gaped at the size of the crater. Jetfire leaned forward, staring at the remains of the base.

"Is that OUR Cybertron City?" The visor-ed mech asked.

Ironhide cupped his servos together and yelled. "HELLO! Can anyone hear me?" Ion rolled her eyes. Inferno walked up to Optimus.

"I'm not detecting any signs of life, sir." Jetfire turned around in shock.

"But I thought there were supposed to be loads of transformers working down there." Inferno shook his head.

"Me too." Ion frowned, biting her thumb.

Ironhide had a worried look on his face. "You think they were wiped out?" All five went silent, trying not to think too hard on that. Optimus turned towards the space-bridge.

"We've got to get to Earth." Ion flew up, once again grabbing onto the Prime as they transformed and took off into the portal.

[A[B[C[D]E]F]G]

Back on Earth, in Ocean City, Kicker had found his mother and sister. They all watched as two Constructicons refined Energon in front of them. Sally, Kicker's younger sibling, peered across the console to where the room over-looked the bots. She had orange hair, a pink jacket, and a short yellow skirt.

"Is that Energon?" She asked, eyes fixed on the glowing material. Their mother, a blond professional-looking woman, answered her.

"Yes. It's the energy source that all life form need to survive, Sally." The red-head continued to watch.

"I'm not sure I get it, Mom." Sally turned to Kicker, who stood a few feet behind her, pointed not looking at the energon-process. "Do you, Kicker?"

He huffed and started to walk away. "Ya think I care?" Sally glared at his retreating back. "What is _with_ that boy?" Miranda shrugged, smiling. "He's just going through a phase, that's all." Sally crossed her arms and looked away. "Well!" Miranda looked over her shoulder at her son.

Outside in the hallway, Kicker walked up to a painted emblem of the Autobot symbol next to the Earth symbol. He banged his fist against the red face. "Humans don't need to rely on transformers." He growled. All he could think about was the first time he'd gone to Cybertron. He'd been so scared by the Autobots, their huge metal bodies, their odd glowing eyes, their loud voices... He hated them, with a passion.

"I don't need anyone to protect me." Kicker muttered, holding his hand palm up, watching as a spark of energy ran in circles on the skin. He was mesmerized by the action, but was startled out of it when his sensory went off. Hard. He turned around and stared down the hall, feeling shockwaves of energy rushing past him.

He broke into a run, nearly plowing into several mechs who yelled after him, down into the control room where HotShot was, talking to Carlos about the attack on Mars.

"HotShot!" The mech turned to him. "You have to submerge the city! And make it quick!" Kicker leaned against the railing trying to catch his breath. HotShot rolled his optics.

"No can do, Kicker. We're right in the middle of an Energon mining op." HotShot narrowed his optics. "And besides, it was you who raised the city in the first place."

Kicker almost jumped from the balcony, just to kick the yellow mech in the head out of frustration. "I told you, it wasn't me! The city rising was what woke me up to begin with! And secondly, we're about to be attacked!" HotShot was taken aback by the fierceness in the boy's eyes.

"We're what!" Kicker growled, only slightly glad that HotShot was taking him seriously.

"Come one! Let's go!" He shouted, turning and darting down the hallway. HotShot turned several times before remembering where the bot-sized exit was, following after the teenager.

[H[I[J[K]L]M]N]

"Wow, so this is Ocean City..." Cooper breathed quietly as he gazed about the room, admiring the mechs and workers. Alexis smirked.

"Yup, Every single bot or person here works to get Energon ore from the mines, refine it, and send it to the cities fuel drives to be used as energy later on." The red-head looked estatic, before taking out a paper notepad and a pen.

Alexis frowned. "What's that for?" Cooper blushed.

"Well, recording devices can be tampered with, and I like writing short-hand. I'm getting the scoop on everything about Ocean City, see." Alexis blinked in confusion, and Cooper hastened to explain properly. "I'm training to be a reporter, Ma'am, and as such, I must be able to get every detail right. Otherwise, I'm a paparazzi, and who wants to be called that?" Alexis smiled.

"Well, you sure picked an interesting time for that." Cooper blinked, beginning to write in his journal.

"Why do you say that, Ma'am?" Alexis turned and pointed to a screen, displaying a mining cart full of glowing green stuff being hauled by two large bots.

"We just found a deposit of Energon, and have started the process of mining and refining." Cooper muttered her words as he wrote them down. He paused, looking back up at her. "I can quote you on that, Ma'am?" Alexis laughed.

"Sure kid. You can quote me on that."

[O[P[Q[R]S]T]U]

Kicker found HighWire outside, washing the liason's car of all things. "Come on!" The minicon beeped and transformed, Kicker hopping on with ease, and they took off with HotShot following closely. They approached the gate, where Demolisher stod in a soccer goalie stance.

"Not this time kid!" The Con cat-called. Kicker would've cursed if he wasn't sure HotShot would bump him if he did so.

"Outta the way Demolisher! We don't time for this! NOW MOVE!" The Con gave him the same look reserved for Autobots. "We're under attack!" That made the Con look upwards, giving Kicker the oppertunity to slide under him. Demolisher stared after the human.

"What? Hey, no, WAIT!" HotShot revved his engine in warning, and Demolisher swung his leg out of the path of the mech, causing the Con to fall over. He growled in extreme agitation.

HotShot was scanning the sky. "I don't see anything, Kicker!" The human glowered at the road.

"I'm not joking around this time!" HotShot gunned his engine, trying to keep pace with the minicon.

"Well for your sake you better not! I'm sick of your stupid pranks! You understand Kicker? Now step on it!" They zoomed off, but the memory from before came rushing back to Kicker. When he was so scared that Rad wasn't protecting him, he'd taken off, leading Optimus to chase him. It had ended badly, with him getting zapped by Primus, a being of energy that was the source of all life on Cybertron.

_'That's where it all started. When I realized I had these strange powers, like Ion told me later. Precognition, the ability to sense Energon, all of it. And according to her, that isn't even half of what I'm capable of_!' Kicker came to a halt, eyes scanning the sky. His sensory went off again, and he caught sight of several blurry objects coming towards them. He pointed up.

"Up there! HotShot, can you see it?" HotShot gave a low groan.

The bot responded irritably. "I don't see a thing! Transform!" The mech got up and tried to look at the same point as Kicker was, but to no luck. He stared down at the human still pointing. "This better not be a joke."

Kicker screamed at him. "It's NOT! NOW FIRE!"

The mech complied. "Yeah, whatever." He fired off a shot, high in the direction Kicker gave him, and it slowly faded. "There's nothing!" Kicker put his arm downing, shaking slightly. That was when HotShot realized Kicker was actually nervous.

"Well, you missed." The human said quietly, as two dark shapes flew into view. "Look! There they are!" It was not the same creatures seen on Mars; instead, these creatures were shaped like eagles, large and terrifying.

"You're right." HotShot stared in blank fascination at them. "But what are those things?"

Kicker frowned. "They look like some kind of recon bots. And there's lots of them!" HotShot spared a moment to look at him.

"How'd you know?" Thousands more of the bots began to appear, and HotShot became nervous.

"Take a look for yourself!" The human replied, his sensory going wild as the screeches of the bots reached his ears; like enraged wild birds ready to attack.

HotShot readied his gun. "Kicker. Why would Transformers be attacking us?" The human twisted his head, staring up at HotShot with a face that made HotShot feel stupid.

"Because they're after our Energon!" Kicker got back onto the bike, "Come on, we have to evacuate the city!" He took off towards the incoming swarm. They opened fire on him, Kicker swerving and weaving to avoid being hit. He began to laugh as he dodged the blasts. Meanwhile, HotShot was cursing every entity he knew for being stuck with Kicker.

"This is crazy!" He shouted as he blasted away several more of the bots. Kicker was still zooming around the bridge. "Kicker! Don't be an idiot!" He froze in his firing as hundreds of the cat-creatures descended behind him, latching onto the towers and buildings. "We're in trouble."

Demolisher, meanwhile, watched as a cat-bot growled, hanging onto the top of the gate. "What's going on?" Hearing more growls behind him, the Con turned to see that he was surrounded by more than a dozen of the cats. "What do you want?" He asked haughtily. One cat roared, twisting its head, before pouncing at him. Demolisher powered up his cannon. "Oh no you don't!" He fired on the cat, knocking it away. The victory was short-lived, as another cat leapt onto him and began to scratch up his chest plating. "You're not getting past me!" He yelled, firing right into the cat's stomach, watching as its lifeless body fell.

Back with Kicker, who still dodging the birds attacks, until he was halted by several cats. The birds transformed and blocked off his only means to escape, and he cursed as he realized they boxed him in. '_Don't_ _let yourself be cornered_.' That was rule one that Ion had taught him. '_There's_ _no telling what your powers will do_.' He was about to find out...

"KICKER! RUN FOR IT!" HotShot called, running as fast as he could towards them. Before Kicker could reply with, _'Where do I run, moron_?' the cats and birds pounced. Kicker shut his eyes, feeling his sensory act up again-

Just as a volley of energy blasts slammed down around him, axing every single one of the bots.

Kicker's mouth dropped open in shock as several figures landed in front of him. "Somebody call for help? It's Optimus and his boys to the rescue!" A mech asked, his jet form firing into the swarm. A truck transformed and the mech began firing at the cats currently trying to claw through the building walls. A small figure was zipping through the air, round-housing the birds, before she touched down in front of Kicker.

"Hey there, baby-IVA. Don't you know? It's impolite to throw a mosh-pit party and NOT invite me!" He stared, watching as she brush her hair from her face.

"Ion." A large firetruck touched down behind him, and he stared in numb shock as Optimus, leader of the Autobots, transformed to greet him.

"Remember me, Kicker?" The human stood, watching the large bot that had plagued his memory since he'd woken up.

"Optimus...Prime..." He stared even as explosions erupted around the space above Ocean City. Ion smirked at him.

[V[W[X[Y]Z]

Inside the city, the humans freaked out as the buildings rumbled and shook. The bots paid little heed to the rocking motions under their feet. In the room over-looking the Energon processor, Miranda wrapped her arms around Sally as they tumbled up against the wall. Sally peered out from where her face had been pressing into her mother's neck for comfort.

"Oh no! Where's my brother?" Miranda gave her a horrified look as she realized Kicker must've been outside. '_Where_ _are you, Kicker_?'

Inside the main building, Cooper shrieked as he topled to the floor, his pad and pen lying beside him. "WHAT THE FRICK?" Aleixs held fast to a console, watching as everything around her shook violently. Cooper grabbed his things and crawled towards the door, going down the hallway to get outside and see what was going on. He got out and was thrown to the ground by a bird dive-bombing him, swoopng away as a huge shadow passed over-head. Cooper looked up and felt his jaw drop as he stared at a red Autbot who fired on the bird, blowing it to pieces.

[a[b[c[d[e]f]

Jetfire continued to blast the birds, whooping in delight as he did. "They're swarmin' like flies!" He transformed and gunned them down. "Now they're in trouble!" He said, and if he had a regular face he would've been grinning like Ion was.

Optimus stood protectively in front of Kicker and Ion, watching his men take out the enemies. "We'll hold them off, while you get out of here Kicker!"

The human scowled. "Yeah, like I stand a chance if I run." He said, pointing to where the battle lay: between them and the gate. Optimus turned to him.

"I promised your father I'd look out for you!" That was not the right thing to say, as Kicker's fist began to spark angrily.

"I'm not a kid." He looked away when Optimus stared at him, feeling his face warm up. "Anymore!" He took off underneath Optimus, who twisted around in alarm.

"KICKER!" The boy swiveled his head to call back to the bot. "I can look after myself!" Optimus faltered, before turning and addressing Ironhide.

"Ironhide! Stop him!" The bot transformed and took off in pursuit. "Yessir!" Ion flew up, watching the battle, when her eyes glowed.

"It happens today." Optimus gave her an alarmed look.

"What does, Ion? What do you mean?" She craned her neck to look him in the optic.

"The beginning of the new IVA." He spared a moment to look horrified, before hardening his gaze and giving a command to the storage car beside him.

"Prime Force! TRANSFORM!"

[g[h[i[j]k]l]m]

Ironhide was busy trying to catch up to the human he was sent after, understanding why Optimus had compared him to Ion. They were both nuts, being out in dangerous territory. He heard Optimus shout something to HotShot, and turned his head in time to see his idol, lit up with an ethereal white glow. "Aw man, is that HotShot up there?"

He watched as HotShot and Inferno took off into the sky, and an explosion of light later they had combined into one giant mech. They then began to fire everywhere: at the cats both on the bridge and buildings, and at the birds. Then Optimus linked up with the Prime Force, and let off an attack that took out every last bird and cat nearby. He turned to his men.

"Are there any left?" Inferno pointed to the bridge.

"Yeah, they're heading for the bridge!" Optimus swung around with terror, watching as Ironhide and Kicker tried to outrun the bots still after them.

"Alright kid, pull over!" Ironhide shouted, wanting to rejoin the fight with Optimus and HotShot. Kicker would've lived up to his namesake, if it weren't for the swarm following them.

"Hey, would ya get lost, ya freak? Can't you see I'm trying to create a diversion for Optimus?" Ironhide's eyes went wide. _He's only trying to help_...

"Sorry, kid, but I've got my orders!" Kicker ignored him in favor of jumping HighWire onto the bridge wall, going up the pipe that held the bridge at level, and jumped onto Ironhide. The mech's face turned in surprise at the close proximity of the human, and Ironhide stared for a moment at the intensity of the boy's eyes. "HEY! What're ya doing?" Kicker gave no response, except kicking at his cannon hard enough to turn the weapon towards the swarm.

"NINE O'CLOCK!" Ironhide began firing, taking out a bird that had been flying right next to them. He proceeded to take out the next one, and managed to beat them back a little. "Come and get it, ya freaks!" Kicker shouted with a sneer, and Ironhide grinned slightly as he realized the teen was enjoying seeing the birds go down. The joy was short-lived as a bird flew at them suicide-style and made an explosion that sent Kicker flying. His helmet flew off in the blast, and he screamed as he went tumbling through the air.

Ion screeched and blasted a bird nearby. "BABY-IVA!" Optimus turned around at her scream, and felt his spark stopped as he watched Kicker get blown from his perch on Ironhide, who had crashed into the safety wall. The Prime ejected the pack Dr. Jones had given him, and threw it as hard as he could. "Kicker! I'll save you!" The pack began to glow, and Ion gasped as she felt power rip past her in a wave, sending the pack straight to Kicker. It encased him in light, and became a bubble around him. Black crawled over his skin, white, red, and blue armor attaching to his limbs and joints. A red Autobot insignia appeared over the right side of the chest plate.

_'It's time, young one. It's time...to AWAKEN!'_ The light disappeared, and Kicker landed hard on his back, his body covered in a suit of what seemed to be space armor.

"What...What is this?" A loud clang behind him made Kicker turn to stare at Optimus, who held his hand out to the boy.

"A gift from your father." Kicker felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"Huh? Him again?" He hadn't even seen his father the last two times he'd fallen asleep. It was impossible that the man was even aware that he was awake now. Optimus heard the anger in Kicker's voice.

"He realized you wouldn't listen to anyone, and he wanted to protect you. You're not a warrior, Kicker." The boy stood, albeit shakily, and turned away from Optimus.

"Where are those bots?" HotShot came up behind them.

"We took care of them." Ion watched the scene below, then glanced over at the tower, where a boy younger than Kicker with spiky orange hair and wide green eyes was watching her. She winked and turned invisible, laughing when the boy seemed to freak out and begin scribbling wildly into a paper notepad. Then, her sensory went off.

"GUYS! LOOK OUT!" She screamed. Kicker and Optimus looked over to her, just as HotShot was blasted in the back. A few birds had taken refuge underneath the bridge, and took the chance to blast both bots away. "Those slaggers are smart! That ain't good!" Inferno growled, flying up next to Ion.

Kicker went tumbling across the ground, his back slamming into the safety wall and his helmet came off again. His hair blew in the surprisingly gentle breeze, even as the birds approached him.

_'Boy...AWAKEN!_' The voice from before shouted, and Kicker woke up in time to see a bird dive at him. He screamed, holding his hands in front of his face- and a huge ball of energy blasted from his hand, spreading into a giant net of sparks that short-circuited the birds. Optimus watched as Kicker slumped, while HotShot stared at the bots the human had taken out. Ion flew down next to the boy, and shook him.

"Oy! Kicker!" He moaned, opening his eyes slowly. He looked at her, eyes unfocused. "What just...happened?" Ion smirked, though her eyes expressed clearly how concerned she had been.

"You just became a realized IVA. Congrats." His eyes rolled up into his head, and then darkness consumed him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>READ AND REVIEW<strong>_! Okay, now that the battle's over, we're finally done with episode one! Like in my Cothica story, I'll try to make the chapters longer from this point, okay?


	5. Chapter 5: To the Moon

Alright! We got Cooper, Ion, and Kicker all in the same place! Time to get some arguing done and fanboy attitudes abound!

Ion: What does that even mean?

I don't know. Good, probably. Anyway.

CHAPTAH!

STARTO!

* * *

><p>Kicker examined himself in the mirror of his second room. It was more private than his 'water room' as he and his sister called it. While the water room was basically just a wide open space with a bed, the second room was compacted into the human barracks, where the humans lived in the city. It was smaller, and had a loft he could go up into.<p>

He brushed his hair from out of his face. It was long now, and he half-considered cutting it, but figured Sally would pitch a fit if she couldn't brush his hair anymore. He pulled it back and tied it with a band that his mother gave him, shaking the ponytail back and forth. He then examined the suit he now wore, tracing the blue and red decorations, the seams of the armor, and especially the red crest on the right side, though he supposed it was the left really. He paused and let his hands gently slide over the face, remembering the image in the sky on Cybertron.

'_This_..._is mine now_.' His arms wrapped around him, and Kicker stared at the image in the mirror. He gently peeled off his right glove, staring at the pink rawness of the skin.

[FLASHBACK]

_Kicker woke up to a beeping noise, and saw Ion, his mother, and Sally all gathered around him. He was lying in a hospital bed, in the human medical wing._

_"Oh thank Primus! He lives!" Ion cried dramatically. Miranda sat on the side of his bed and hugged Kicker, sniffling loudly._

_"I was so worried, Kicker." Kicker felt his face go red, and slowly returned the hug. Sally smacked his arm._

_"You shoulda known better than to go racing out when there was trouble! Lucky for us Optimus came and saved you!" Kicker looked up at the leader, who tilted his head in a shrug. Kicker sighed, then yelped when Sally touched his hand to get his attention. He looked and saw that the skin on his palms was a bright red, and looked to Ion for an explanation._

_"I think you creating that net of energy may have been a bit much for you. You burned yourself trying to protect yourself." She said, shrugging. Kicker winced as Sally poked the skin, then tried to curl his fingers._

_"Ow..." Being an IVA was going to suck._

[END FLASHBACK]

'_IVA_..._Interstellar Vigorous Ascendant. What Ion is...what I am now..._" Kicker thought, putting his glove back on. After he'd been cleared to leave, both his mother and Optimus had scolded him, with Ion and Sally watching. He'd only seen the bot known as Ironhide once, watching him from across the hall, but had yet to talk to him formally.

Kicker exited his room, just as Ironhide came around the corner. They stood staring at each other, before Kicker looked away. '_He_ _probably doesn't like me, after I yelled at him like that_.'

"So, Kicker." The brunette looked up in surprise. "Things were hectic yesterday, and I know you were just trying to help and all, but I wanna make sure everything is clear." Ironhide was rubbing the back of his helm. "I've heard stories about you, and your amazing abilities helping to find Energon." Of course. He must want a demonstration. "But I think it's even cooler that you're considered part of Optimus' team, and after hearing Optimus talk about you, I decided I want to get to know you, and you know, be your friend and stuff. If that's okay?"

Kicker stared in shock, before his eyes were met by Ironhide's. Without warning, he was hit with a vision.

_'Does it still hurt?' Pain, burning, harsh..._

_'No.' A lie, bad, bad, bad._

_A low chuckle. 'You're really terrible at lying, you know that?'_

_Cold pressing into his skin, cold but with warm intentions..._

"Kicker?" The human jumped when he realized he'd been completely deaf to what Ironhide had said. He swayed unsteadily, until Ironhide's hand came up around his waist. "Hey, you look like you're gonna fall, are you alright?" Kicker breathed in deeply - and let his foot swing into Ironhide's servo hard. The mech jumped in shock, yowling as he clutched at the dented metal of his palm. "WHY YOU-!"

He stopped when he realized Kicked was now peering at him from the next corner, eyes trained on him intently. "What? What're you staring at me for?" Kicker disappeared around the corner just as sirens began to blare.

'ATTENTION ALL OCEAN CITY INHABITANTS! PLEASE ASSEMBLE IN SECTOR 14-A!' The alarms stopped soon enough, but Kicker's ears still rung as he ran towards the meeting hall. When he got into the room, the Decepticon known as Tidal Wave was onscreen, covered in the cat-bots from before. The Con was muttering his name over and over again, like a mantra of some sort. Kicker was pulled backwards, before turning and seeing his mother. Sally grabbed onto his arm, and he shuffled to stand slightly in front of her.

Ion watched him from her perch on top of Prime's head. She then looked back to the screen. Rad zoomed in on one of the cats, and the room filled with murmurs as they watched it devour some Energon and a green star shape appeared on it's back.

HotShot was stunned, and his voice choked as he tried to speak. "T-They're _eating_ Energon." Optimus narrowed his optics.

"It looks that way." Kicker glanced at Demolisher, who stared at the screen in blank horror. The Decepticons had little understanding of friendship or loyalty, but when it came down to it they did care for each other, in their own twisted way. And Tidal Wave had been one of the strongest Decepticons out there. If those strange bots were able to bring him down...

Alexis, standing on one of the floating platforms, rose up in front of the screen, switching the image of Tidal Wave floating unconcious in space to the Earth symbol. "What you have just witnessed was the latest satellite transmission we've recieved from Cyber City on Mars, that was attacked yesterday. Obviously, those Transformers were after our Energon, Optimus." The Prime nodded, and it was then that Kicker noticed in front of him a boy with spiked orange hair and a notebook, busily scribbling. Kicker had never seen this boy before and leaned slightly to get a better view of what he was doing, Sally pulling back on his arm.

"Go on, Alexis." Optimus urged.

She nodded. "We've scanned our data base, and deduced that our enemy is a high-tech pact of androids called 'Terracons'." She swerved the platform around and typed something quickly. "Though where they come exactly, we still haven't been able to pinpoint."

Optimus stepped forward. "And if that's the case, then we can assume that their next target will be the Energon mines here on Earth."

Alexis did not turn around. "And you'd be correct. But..." She did turn, staring at him. "We have a serious problem, because we're bound by the Earth Federation Treaty. Under Section forty-seven F, it states that Transformers shall not take up arms against other Transformers."

Kicker couldn't believe what he was hearing. He lunged forward, Sally letting go of his arm, and the boy in front of him being startled into dropping his pen and paper as the brunette cried out right next to his ear.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" Every pair of eyes turned to him, and lucky for Kicker he didn't back down easily. "So what are we supposed to do, just sit back and watch?" He scowled in rage. Ion jumped up from her perch and hovered over the Prime. Sally muttered to her brother, "Cool it, Kicker."

He jumped from the balcony, onto Demolisher's shoulder, then off HotShot's forehead, (payback for earlier, when they'd found out it was Ion who raised the city and the yellow mech did not apologize for his accusations.) off Demolisher's cannon, onto a bright yellow mech's head, and landed on the platform with Alexis, who grabbed the railing as it shook. "KICKER!" She yelled, not wanting to have to scold him in front of an entire city.

"Answer me!" He growled, fist raised. Alexis stared at him in surprise, then turned away clutching her right arm.

"We have rules we must follow." She opened her eyes, staring at nothing. "And while certain rules don't make sense, we can't attack unless we're under a serious threat. To organize a first-strike assault would clearly be a violation of our treaty. Sorry Kicker." He thrust his hand out in anger, agitated to no end.

"AH, PLEASE! Give me a break, Alexis, don't you get it? We're like sitting ducks here-" Whatever else Kicker had to say was cut off in a startled yelp as he was picked up between Prime's fingers and held from the ground. The bot had his fingers pinching the jetpack on the human's back carefully, staring at Kicker scoldingly. "HEY! Would ya put me down, Optimus?" The bot did not respond, continuing to stare at him, until Kicker began to squirm under it. "Come on, I'm serious!"

Alexis moved her platform away, towards the crowd, as Optimus held Kicker at bay. "Unfortunately, that leaves us with only one clear-cut option: to evacuate immediately." There were gasps and murmurs from the human crowd, as well as the bots. Ocean City had been submerged for almost ten years. It had become their home, their refuge from danger. Cooper took note of the reactions, scribbling a new page already. "Otherwise, we can't guarantee the safety of anyone here on Earth."

Kicker felt his blood boil; leave? The only place he could ever truly call home? "FORGET IT! I'm not going ANYWHERE! Cause Earth is my home!" He struggled hard in Optimus' grip. Besides, there was still that... "And I'll take on these flying creeps myself!" He roared, his throat starting to hurt from all the screaming he'd been doing lately.

HotShot looked over at Ironhide and shrugged with a smirk. Ironhide stared as Kicker continued trying to free himself.

"What's his problem?" Ion floated over the rookie. Optimus watched the boy for a few more moments, before addressing Alexis.

"Alexis?" She turned with a confused noise. "Don't worry about Kicker. He can stay behind with my men and I." Kicker finally went still after the declaration.

"But...Optimus." The leader gave her a strong look.

"Trust me. He'll be safe with us, and besides we need him because of his ability to detect Energon." At her worried look, he added. "And I promise you, we will not violate the treaty. We are here to defend Earth, not to attack our enemy."

Alexis smiled after hearing this. "You're right. I really doubt anyone could convince Kicker to leave here, Optimus." He looked up at her.

"You know, you just might be right about that." She opened her eyes, watching the leader of the bots who protected her world.

"Hey, thanks a lot. And you be careful." Optimus nodded.

"Right." He then lifted his hand, staring at the wriggling boy who was trying once again for freedom. "And as for you, you'd better follow orders!" He snapped, losing his patience.

"Bite me!" Kicker let his foot swing and ram hard into the Prime's hand. Optimus was glad he'd gained an immunity to the boy's kicks, because if he had been another bot he would've dropped the human out of shock. As it was, he gently put the teen down, and waited a few seconds for Kicker to take off before sighing.

"That boy..." Ironhide watched with distaste, and turned to his superior.

"Uh, sir, if I may?" Optimus turned to him. "Why do you let him kick you like that? Isn't it disrespectful to you?" Optimus stared, then began to chuckle.

"Ironhide, I learned that about Kicker the first time I met him."

Ironhide tilted his head in confusion. "What's that, sir?" Optimus stared after the boy, watching as he disappeared from sight.

"He only kicks the ones he likes." Ironhide's eyes widened. _'So then..._' Back when he was kicked, _'That was him saying yes?_' Ion laughed in answer.

[A[B[C]D]E]

In the water room, just below the surface of the water, Kicker had a small cube in his hands, a panel in the wall open. Optimus wasn't quiet as he entered the room, nor did Kicker acknowledge having heard him. The firetruck came to a stop beside him, and if the room was just a bit bigger, Prime probably could have transformed.

The brunette pressed a small button on the bottom, and a screen popped up from the cube, showing him, Optimus, and Ion all on a sandy beach somewhere on Earth. Ion was dressed in a green two-piece, Kicker was in dark blue shorts, and both were hanging off the Prime in ridiculous poses. Kicker was about five.

"I wish..." Kicker began, but cut himself off. Optimus did not press the issue. He knew what Kicker was going to say.

After a few moments, Optimus backed up out of the room, transformed, and walked off. Kicker was left sitting by himself, the reflections from the water casting patterns on his wall.

[F[G[H]I]J]

A while later, Kicker was standing on the edge of a platform, watching as cars and trucks full of people formed a line out the gate. He saw his mother and Sally being led into a car with Alexis. They looked back at him for a few moments.

"You stay outta trouble, okay Kicker?" Sally shouted at him. He smiled and leaned to call back to her. "Don't worry about me; just go!" They finally got in, and were the last to leave.

"How sweet. The older brother is a shining knight to his princess little sister, and valiantly stays at guard!" Kicker convulsed in shock and turned, seeing the boy from before standing next to him. He was wearing a blue jacket, grey sweatpants, and blue shoes.

"E-Excuse me?" The boy smiled and leaned in so closely to his face Kicker was afraid they'd end up accidently kissing. He noticed that the boy's green eyes were flecked through with spots of blue.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just spouting nonsense. By the way, are you by any chance Chad 'Kicker' Jones?" Kicker backed away, on edge.

"How do you know my full name?" The boy hummed in excitement as he began to scribble again in his journal.

"A good reporter knows all the little details, my good fellow! Like how you prefer strawberry soda to orange, or how you like mild cheddar cheese on your pizza." Kicker blinked several times. "Is it true that you have the ability to detect Energon?"

He nodded, frowning; great, another kid who'd make fun of him. The boy hummed again, scribbling. "And is it true that you prefer to ride the motorcycle type minicon known as HighWire, as apposed to riding in one of the Autobots?" Now throughly confused Kicker nodded to that. "And is it also true that you like pranks on the Autobots, accompanied by the mysterious Ion?"

Kicker narrowed his eyes. "How do you know about Ion?" The boy pulled out a pair of glasses, reading the stuff he'd written down. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

The boy pulled out a small recorder, clicking it on and pointing it towards Kicker. "Earlier yesterday afternoon, you were witnessed by several persons to have blasted five Terracons with an energy shockwave known only to be emitted by Transformers. How do you respond?" Kicker finally lost it; he kicked the recorder out of the boy's hand.

"Where are your parents? Do they allow you to run around bothering people like this on a daily basis?" He snarled. The boy was not looking at him anymore, but instead at the ground. He turned after a moment, and spoke with his back to Kicker.

"I don't have parents anymore." Kicker felt his agitation drain.

"What?" The boy walked over to where his recorder lay, still in one piece.

"They were reporters, doing a cover story on the Mars base when it was-" He cut off, letting Kicker fill in the rest. "They didn't make it. I learned about it just the other day. I'm training to be a reporter just like them, and I figured I'd do a story on this...mess, whatever, and dedicate it to their memory." Kicker slumped, feeling low. The boy picked up the recorder and brushed it off. "They told me a good reporter never backs down when the story gets rough, and I'm willing to stay behind and document every step from now on."

Kicker winced. "I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." The boy turned around, then looked up at the sky.

"It's okay. When I think about something my mom always said, I feel better about it. 'Even though a person might be gone from your side, they'll never be gone from your heart'. She said that to me when my grandmother died." He finally looked back at Kicker. "By the way, my name is Cooper DeBellerio. Nice to meet you, okay?" He held out his hand, and Kicker shook it carefully.

"Thanks. And Cooper, if you're going to cover this story, then I'll be there to protect you. Got it?" Cooper smiled and nodded. A series of clangs alerted them to Ironhide walking up to them.

"Hey." Kicker winced again. He rubbed the back of his head. "Ironhide, about before-" The bot cut him off by holding up his hand. "Optimus explained it to me." Kicker stared in surprise, and sighed with a relieved smile.

"Oh good, that means I don't have to apologize-" He was cut off again, this time by Ironhide's fist planting into the ground beside him. Cooper had the most hysterical look on his face.

"LIKE SLAG IT DOES!" Ironhide roared comically. "No one just kicks me and gets away with it!" Kicker looked away, his arms crossed behind his head with a pout.

"But it symbolizes us being friends, I don't see why you're still mad." The mech growled, and was interrupted by Cooper. "Wait. You kick the people you consider your friends?" Kicker turned to him with a grin. "Yes, would you like a demonstration?" Ironhide screamed at him. "STOP IGNORING ME!"

Kicker broke into laughter, clutching his stomach, as Ironhide fumed, and Cooper looked back and forth between the two. After a few moments, Ironhide got up and walked off, snarling to himself about 'stupid humans'. Kicker and Cooper went inside, walking towards the human barracks.

"How did your parents become reporters Cooper?" The red-head shrugged, sitting on a bench nearby. Kicker sat on the backrest, his feet on the side.

"They grew up on Earth, but always had a fascination with aliens and stuff. When they started working for a small news hub, that's about the same time the Autobots showed up. My parents went nuts, trying to find as much info on the transformers as they could." Cooper smile and looked up. "When they weren't satisfied with that, they began their own little game of following the Transformers and their battles. They were part of the crew that did the last battle between the Autobots and Decepticons." Kicker blinked and his mouth dropped open a bit.

"Seriously? Don't suppose you have any copies left?" They turned their heads to see Ironhide, who was standing next the the bench.

"How long have you been standing there?" Kicker muttered wide-eyed, as Cooper laughed. "I can get you an exclusive edition if you want, Ironhide." Cooper held his fingers in a V-shape. "No charge."

"I have to follow you, Kicker, because Optimus assigned me to keep an eye on you." The bot sighed, leaning against a pillar. "I get that you being able to sense Energon is important, but why does Optimus want to have you guarded all the time?" Kicker frowned.

Cooper watched as the brunette brought his fist up and bit down on his knuckles softly. "I guess because...he cares about me." Both the other males gave him confused looks. "When we first met...Something happened, and Optimus was really afraid I'd gotten hurt. He told me he would always protect me, no matter what."

Ironhide tilted his head. "Really?" Kicker nodded, staring at the ground. The bot frowned, crossing his arms. "Wow that's... Huh." He'd never realized how close Optimus and Kicker were, and if that was the case, Kicker must've seen Optimus as a dad or something. So, if that was it, then how did he see Ironhide?

"Hey Ironhead. Aren't suppose to be babysitting me?" Kicker called, and it was then that Ironhide realized both he and Cooper were on the other side of the room. He shouted in surprise and ran after them.

[L[M[N]O]P]

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in space, specifically the moon, a loud, wild, uncontrollable laughter broke the silence of the asteroid. A jet flew off from the cackler, a mech with an orange face and black armor.

"Oh boy, I can hardly wait for the battle to get started!" He pulled out a blaster and proceeded to practice with it. "Want me to fire here? Or here! AH HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He cackled, letting off several rounds of red shots.(1) "I'M TINGLING ALL OVER!" He was actually surprised when something started firing back at him. He screamed as several shots collided with his frame, as well as the entire crater where the base was. "Um, no?" There were screeches, and then there were Terracons. Both cat-type and bird-type surrounded the mech, growl and screeches, hungry for Energon, and determined to get it at any cost. "RAGH! COME AND GET IT!" He screamed, firing everywhere he could. Several birds transformed and threw Z-shaped throwing stars the tower, creating a hole through which the cats got in.

The mech was still firing, even after he realized it did nothing.

[Q[R[S]T]U]

Staring at the screen which displayed this event, Optimus Prime was dumbfounded. Ion floating above his head, watching the scene with interest.

"The moon? I thought for sure their next target would be Earth." She floating upside down with her legs crossed in front of his face.

"Well, you thought wrong Prime. Keep it up, and we won't have a chance." He glared at her. "And neither will the humans." He stopped and looked away sullenly. Inferno announced that the moon base was calling for help.

"Jetfire, can I count on you?" The red mech turned and nodded.

"Yes sir. But, are you sure you have enough fire power here on Earth?" Optimus turned to him, glad about the concern.

"I think we'll be fine. And use the space-bridge, it'll be faster than raising the city for you to launch." Prime suggested. Jetfre nodded. "Yessir! I'm on my way!" He saluted and took off. Inferno turned back to the console.

"Inferno, you provide cover for Jetfire while he launches, just in case we come under fire." The other mech nodded.

"Right." Outside the base, a hole appeared outlined with yellow light, which separated into rings that formed a tunnel shape. Jetfire was ready to launch, when Ironhide, Kicker, and a new boy they had never seen before came up to him. The humans were standing on HighWire, who'd become a sort of plane-shape.

"Hey hold up!" Jetfire gave a confused noise, and Optimus, who was on a screen nearby, looked confused as well.

Ironhide sounded sheepish as he asked. "Uh, mind if we tag along?" The stranger grinned, and Optimus saw an excited gleam in those green eyes.

"Why, Ironhide?" The bot shifted on his tires nervously. "I wanna earn my Combination Spark, so I can combine with HotShot, sir." Kicker knew what it was, but held back his laughter when Cooper began to snort uncontrollably. The red-head was wearing a blue space suit with green on it, and had a helmet similar to Kicker's under his right arm.

Optimus swiped his arm through the air deftly. "No! And that's final, understand Ironhide? I've teamed you up with Kicker." Optimus then addressed the new boy. "And just who are you?"

"My name is Cooper, sir, and I want to go along to help with this story." The prime looked even more confused. "Story?" Cooper nodded, then pointed to the older boy who's waist he was clutching to keep from falling off HighWire. "Kicker said he'd protect me from now on too."

"No buts, pal!" Jetfire said scoldingly. "You're on babysitting duty, or do you think you can handle that?" Jetfire was interrupted by Kicker's namesake on his head, allowing him and Cooper access to his inside.

"You think I'm a baby that needs sitting?" The brunette asked angrily. "Well, I'll show you what I'm made of! I'm going with ya to kick some Terracon butt! Cooper, scooch!" The red-head scooted back, allowing Kicker to plop into the pilot's seat.

Jetfire was clearly uncomfortable with this, and let out a groan. "Opti-mus..." The leader of the Autobots face-palmed with a sigh.

"I just don't know what to do that kid." He took a glance at them. Cooper was already scribbling in his notebook, and Kicker was glaring at the commander with a silent dare. "Alright, they're all yours Jetfire." The boys cheered.

"You heard the dude!" Kicker said to Jetfire, locking the seatbelt into place. Behind him, Jetfire had formed another seat for Cooper, who was wiggling excitedly. "Let's roll!" Cooper couldn't stop grininng.

"I'm going into space. On Jetfire. I rule so hard right now!" He said, making a whining noise low in his throat. It increased in volume as Jetfire took off. After they were gone, only Optimus was able to hear Ironhide muttering about monkeys. Up in the space-bridge, Kicker and Cooper were subjected to the G-force of Jetfire's take-off, and were squished into their seats so hard Cooper feared his eyes would bleed. Then, it ended, and when they managed to unglue their eyes, they looked in awe at the stars and planets surrounding them.

[V[W[X]Y]Z]

Back on Earth, Optimus gave a new command. "All systems go to elevate Cyber City!"(2) The city once again rose magnificiently from the water, sparkling like a fairytale castle. "Ativate space-bridge!" Was the next order given, once Optimus and the others were on deck. The space-bridge creating cannons were powered up, and Ironhide took a second to admire the tech. He was startled out of his thoughts by someone coming up behind him.

He turned around to see HotShot walking up to him. "Well, it's time to go Ironhide." The younger mech felt giddy as his idol addressed him. "Right sir!" HotShot leaned in. "If you do a good job, I'll make sure Optimus knows about it." Ironhide was startled; HotShot was going to put in a good word for him? "Are you serious sir?" HotShot seemed taken aback by that. "Yeah?" Ironhide felt his giddiness increase. "Oh, you don't know how much I appreciate that, sir. And I promise, I'll do my best!"

The yellow mech smiled; actually, he knew exactly how excited Ironhide was, by the look on his faceplate. "Would you just relax? And quit calling me 'sir'." Ironhide could've offlined happily at this point.(3) HotShot turned and yelled up to the tower. "We're moving out, Inferno!"

The mech nodded, typing something. "Roger that!" Optimus halted him.

"Wait. I'm expecting something!" HotShot turned to his leader in shock. "But sir, they're waiting for us on the moon!" Suddenly, a whirring noise started up behind them, and they all turned to see a platform rising up with two Omnicons and Ion on it. "Never mind, it's here."

Ion jerked her thumb at the 'con next to her. "Be happy we got it done time, Prime. You're lucky I'm good at rush-orders." She flew up and forward to him, the Omnicons following after.

"You're bringing the Omnicons with us, Optimus?" One of the bots strode forward, pointing to his chest.

"Give me a break; there's no way I'm going anywhere near a battle." His voice was muffled slightly, as though he had something in his mouth and was speaking around it. The other bot also stepped forward. "Instead, we brought you newly processed Energon chips to give you a boost!" He said excitedly. Ironhide jumped in ecstasy.

"Serious?" Optimus took a moment to scold the young mech. "Don't move." Iornhide froze. Ion watched the stars shoot from the Omnicons and appear on different parts of the mechs; Ironhide's arm, Prime's shoulder, and the left side of HotShot's chest. They all glowed bright red, HotShot moving his arms in wonderment.

"What is this?" Optimus looked at him. "Those are Energon cells." The Omnicons walked forward, now in front of the battle mechs.

"Well, lemme put it this way, HotShot. We just boosted your power big time." The yellow mech grinned. "Alright!" The other 'con, the one with the muffled voice, cut him off. "But remember to use it sparingly. It might not last an entire battle." Optimus nodded to them, and turned to the space-bridge.

"Okay men. Let's move out!" He transformed and spared a moment for Ion to hop on, then took off through the gate, the others taking off after him.

TBC

* * *

><p><em><strong>READ AND REVIEW<strong>_! Okay, time to get this done! Constructicon = 'Con. Decepticon = Con. Omnicon = 'con. Everyone got it? Great!

(1): Really, did you REALLY need to say that, you freak? One line later: Again, REALLY? Because, as we learned in the first episode, firing at nothing gets you a swarm of Terracons. Two lines later: Muthafocker, I called it.

(2):How many Cyber Cities are there? They called the Mars base 'Cyber City' as well. I'm confused.

(3): What a fanboy. XD


	6. Chapter 6: And Back Again

Ion: Well, now that it's been established, it seems like we'll be on the ball with this one.

Kicker: As long as we keep this up, we might get done soon.

Not likely, you two.

K+I: AAAAH!(jump) Where did you come from?

My momma's belly. And YOU? (They mutter) Alright, someone asked me how Ion doesn't end up flashing people when she flies. (lifts up the IVA's tunic to reveal white biking shorts) That's how. She has shorts on. (Ion pulls the tunic down, scowling and blushing)

Anyway, now that the setting's concrete, we can get rolling.

CHAPTAH!

STARTO!

* * *

><p>If someone were to look up at the moon during that point in time, they would've had their jaws drop at the sight of explosions erupting all over the part where the moon base was located. Jetfire was wildly soaring through the bird-Terracons, firing at random while Kicker cheered him on.<p>

"YEAH! You rule, Jetfire!" Cooper was scribbling like mad in the journal, and at some point it seemed like the paper would burst into flame from friction-burn. Kicker spotted another bird nearby. "We got another bogey at twelve o'clock!"

Jetfire launched a few shots at it, taking the bot down easily. Cooper stopped writing when Kicker forced Jetfire into a loop. "We got another one on our tails! Shake it Jetfire!" The jet responded by going into a huge loop, "Hang on!" and began to fire on the bird-Terracon as he got it in sight, blowing the bird into a crash landing. They sped off, gunning down several more Terracons. "Way to go, kid! You're one wicked wingman!" Cooper snorted as he wrote that down, along with a sidenote saying _'Say that five times fast_.' Kicker frowned.

"Yeah, but we can't hold them off much longer! Where's Optimus?" Jetfire shot at a pair of oncoming birds, only to watch as the one left standing transformed and deflected almost eight shots in a row, before the Autobot flew past it, and the bird threw a Z-shaped boomerang at them. "JETFIRE! INCOMING!" Jetfire swerved to avoid it, but ended up rolling downward towards the surface of the planet. Kicker and Cooper muffled their noises of terror as they held on. Jetfire managed to stop spinning, and Cooper breathed slowly so he wouldn't hurl.

"Oh man, that was a close one!" Jetfire exclaimed, scanning for more Terracons. Kicker gasped when he saw the boomerang live up to its reputation and loop around back at them.

"DIVE!" The brunette shrieked, holding fast to the arms of his seat as Jetfire went downward, narrowly avoiding the weapon as it returned to the Terracon. "C'mon Jetfire, get in the game!" Kicker urged as they soared back, aiming for the bird. Two more joined the first, and Cooper looked backwards in horror at the three oncoming boomerangs. Kicker gritted his teeth as he spoke. "Oh, snap! Incoming from all sides!" Cooper finally stopped writing as he clutched his helmet and hunched down. Jetfire waited until the last second, before pulling upwards, letting the boomerangs hit several birds waiting to ambush them. One boomerang continued to chase after them, and Kicker noticed a few birds off to the side.

"Sharp left, Jetfire! And don't try anything fancy!" They twisted, banking towards the crpwd of birds. Cooper came close to screaming as they appraoched, when Jetfire gunned two birds down, let the third get close enough, and zoomed upwards as the boomerang collided with the Terracon. It spun against the bot's stomach, then sliced it in half before exploding. Cooper then gave a shriek, of victory, and slumped in his seat.

"Haha, you okay back there Cooper? It isn't too intense for ya?" The red-head gave an uneasy burp, and and sat up straight, Jetfire resuming his blitzkrieg on the birds.

"I can take it. For my parents...Uh, my stomach is hating my parents right now." Cooper slouched back down. Kicker laughed at the other teen, turning his head as his sensory nudged at him, and saw the space-bridge appear.

"Looks like the calvalry's here!" Kicker said to Cooper, who grinned and opened his notebook back up. Optimus called through the comm. link.

"Jetfire! Kicker! Give me an update!" Cooper turned his comm on as Jetfire hurried to avoid getting blasted.

"Optimus, sir, it's Cooper. They found the Energon! And they got smarter!" Jetfire chimed in after him. "Optimus! We'll handle the perimeter, you fly down and see if you can save the Energon!" Cooper was almost completely done with the journal.

"I'm on it!" Three red streaks appeared, heading towards the planet. A yellow streak broke off of one, and zoomed towards them, taking out a few birds along the way. Ion grabbed onto Jetfire's wing, clamoring up until she was standing on top of the cockpit, staring at the two grinning boys inside.

"Miss me, little IVA?" Kicker smirked. "Like a bad headache." Cooper chuckled.

[A[B[C]D]E]

"They just keep coming!" HotShot snarled, blasting at the cat-type Terracons that tried to surround them. The Z-boomerangs were destroyed upon impact with the shields created by the Energon stars, but they did nothing to protect them from the cats. Optimus fired off a shot.

"Okay men, the Energon mine should be just up ahead." Ironhide turned with his fists pumped. "I'll go, sir! Cover me!" Optimus nodded to the younger mech. "Alright Ironhide, but remember: don't rely too heavily on your Energon. And be careful."

The bot nodded, "Yessir!", and took off. He waited until the path was cleared, and began to charge past the Terracons, his shield blocking the shots fired at him. "Gimme your best shot, you useless Terracons! You can't stop me!" A shot touched down beside him, nearly blowing off his leg. "Woah! Okay, maybe I take that back." He got to the entrance of the mine, seeing a few broken mechs laying on the ground. "Okay, this is it..." He began to walk carefully, staring at the carnage around him. "And boy, what a mess!" He crept along, stopping when he saw a large door, closed up and dirtied from battle. "This has got to be the elevator shaft." He wrenched open the doors-

And stared down into a long, dark, and creepy stretch of space. He steadied himself. "Well, it's now, or never." He jumped. "YAAAHOOO!" He screamed, flying headfirst down the mineshaft. At the bottom, several cats were munching away at the Energon deposits embedded in the ground. The resulting CRASH! from Ironhide's descent caused them to stop and growl. Ironhide stood up as the dust cleared away, trying to appear imposing. "Sorry boys, but you're trespassing." Unknown to the mech, his Energon Star began to flicker. The cats began to corner the bot, causing Ironhide to become defense. "Hey! Another step and you'll get blasted!" The cats transformed.

'_Oh_, _great..._' Ironhide thought as he took in the newly transformed Terracon-cats. They pounced and began to slam into him, and succeeded a few moments later in knocking him down. "HEY!" They began to pummel him with the morning stars from their tails, and so caught up in being beaten, Ironhide never noticed his Energon Star disappear.

[F[G[H]I]J]

Outside, Optimus roared as he blasted away a large amount of birds. While still suspended from the ground, he watched in confusion as his Energon Star completely faded away. He landed, watching the area around him for attacks, before calling to HotShot.

"HotShot! I've used up all my Energon!" The yellow mech turned to respond, but was distracted by the fading of his own Star.

"I'm tapped too, sir. This doesn't look good." He was distracted by Jetfire landing nearby, Ion jumping off of his wing. "Sir! It's Jetfire, Kicker, and Ion!" The glass-top came up, and both Kicker and Cooper popped up.

"Hey guys! Doesn't look like there are too many out here." Cooper put his notebook into his pack, along with his pen, and jumped out after Kicker, allowing Jetfire to transform. They ran over to Optimus and HotShot, who nodded to them.

"But what about under the surface?" Jetfire shrugged. "No clue, but I'm gonna find out." He turned and ran towards the entrance of the mine, the others following at his heels. "Right behind you!" Optimus called. Cooper gave Kicker an excited grin. "It's like a flash mob, but with giant robots!" Kicker snorted, almost tripping on his feet, and Ion rolled her eyes.

[K[L[M]N]O]

Inside, there was a huge pile of Terracon cats, and Ironhide burst out from under them a moment later, after having been weighed down by the cats. He kicked at one, punched another, then froze when he realized they had boxed him in. He charged at them, knocking them away. "You pint-sized pains are gettin' on my nerves!" He yelled, swinging his arms around. "And even if I'm outta Energon, you're still going down!" He stared at the cats who were unconcious. "Now, who wants a piece of me?" He asked, jumping from one mound to another, coming to a stop in front of a cat. He knelt down and reached for the star on its back, when Kicker flew out of nowhere and slammed his foot against the ground. The human looked up to see Ironhide about to touch un-processed Energon.

"Ironhide!" He shouted. Startled, the mech flinched while turning, causing his hand to brush up against the Energon. Ironhide's hand lit up with a lethal green glow, he screamed and was then forced backwards. He lay on his back, unconcious. "That was dumb. He knows that only Omnicons can handle Energon!" Kicker said as Cooper landed beside him, rolling forward and onto his stomach.

"Uh, what happened?" The red-head questioned, seeing Ironhide knocked out and Terracons everywhere. Kicker shook his head. "Our so-called hero's a zero." He leapt down from the ledge, Cooper following closely. They got to where Ironhide lay, when a low threatening growl erupted from behind them. A cat was perched on the ledge, staring at them with sharp, narrowed optics. Cooper backed himself between Kicker and Ironhide. "Uh, Kicker? Where's that protection you promised?" The red-head muttered nervously. Kicker jumped onto Ironhide's chest and kicked the bot's cannon sideways, letting it fire at the cats. Cooper crawled up onto Ironhide's middle, breathing hard, only to be pushed off as Kicker pulled on Ironhide's chest plate and flipped the bot over, creating a shield of sorts. The cats were blasted away, and the human boys crawled out to see Optimus and Hotshot.

"Ironhide, are you alright?" The Prime asked. Kicker and Cooper got up, sighing in relief. "Don't bother Optimus, He's fine, but he can't hear you right now." The brunette stated flatly. Both of the mechs standing holstered their guns. "That's a relief." Optimus said, before they were all distracted by a swarm of cats running across the ledge above them. Ion was in hot pursuit, waving to Optimus and the others as she flew by.

"Need a little HELP here!" She shouted. Jetfire took off after them. "I'm on it! You're not going anywhere, creeps!" He chased after them, aided when Ion created a tether of light and wrapped it around the mech's arm, pulling him along. HotShot darted over to where Ironhide lay, Cooper nudging the bot with his foot. "Ironhide! Are you okay?" The bot seemed to finally come back online at the sound of the older mech's voice. "I'm fine, HotShot, I just...had a little accident." The bot said, embarrassment lacing his voice. HotShot gave him a confused look.

[P[Q[R]S]T]

Back on the surface, Ion and Jetfire had chased the cats out of the mine, where they proceeded to climb out of the crater and flee. Jetfire stopped as he got out, Ion halting a few feet away. They watched in horror as the cats launched themselves upwards and latched onto several birds flying nearby. "Oh nuts! They're coming outta the woodwork!" Jetfire groaned. Ion gaped, before her eyes glowed.

"They are **NOT** getting away." She said, her hands filling with energy. She formed a large whip, which split at the end into several sections, and launched it at the birds, catching a few and causing the bots to explode. Jetfire gave her a look as she settled down. "Kid, sometimes I need reminding of how strong you really are." She answered with a grin. They looked up as a giant purple cloud appeared, and after a second, realized it was a space-bridge that the Terracons passed through. Jetfire huffed while Ion threw a bolt of energy at the ground angrily. "They got away."

Back on Earth, the space-bridge for them opened up, and the four mechs landed with equally loud bangs. Jetfire opened the hatch and allowed Kicker and Cooper to get out, before transforming. Ion yawned as she sat on Prime's shoulder. She looked over and saw Ironhide crouched on the ground.

"Just hang in there, Ironhide." HotShot tried as he put a servo on the younger mech's shoulder. When Ironhide did not perk up, they knew something was wrong. The mech's voice was filled with guilt as he spoke. "It's my fault we lost the battle." HotShot sighed. "It was NOBODY's fault. Now get that through your head." Cooper frowned, and flipped backwards in his journal. Ironhide sounded close to crying. "Thanks HotShot, but I know I screwed up the mission, and I can't help but blame my-" He was cut off by Kicker growling.

"Ragh! Wouldja chill out already?" Ironhide continued his self-beration, as though Kicker never spoke. "How could I have been such an idiot and just touch the Energon without even thinking first?" Cooper was now scanning the pages, his eyes flickering from word to word. "Yeah, well, you work that out." Kicker said, starting to walk away. Optimus called him back.

"Kicker!" The brunette turned. "What!" Optimus stared at him scoldingly, like before. "I ordered you to team up with Ironhide. Or did you forget that?" Kicker scoffed and turned his head. "Aw, gimme a break!" Optimus glared. "If you ignore my orders, then I have no choice but to send you back to your mother!" Kicker felt his blood run cold, at the same moment his face went red. "You wouldn't." The brunette said, staring at Optimus wishing the bot would spontaneously combust. Ion was busy laughing at him loudly, and Cooper was still reading through his notebook. Optimus stared down at him, and Kicker had a feeling that if the mech had a mouth it'd been curled in a condesending smirk.

"Try me." Ion literally fell on Jetfire's helm laughing, and Kicker wished combustion on her. He sighed irritably." Okay partners. I'll go talk to him." He then walked over to Ironhide, who was still crouched on the ground. Kicker snapped his fingers, and the bot looked upward at him. "There's a reason it's called a mistake." Ironhide blinked at him. "Because it means you'll know NOT to do it next time. And there's ALWAYS a next time, ya got that?" Cooper yipped in triumph, making the other boy stare at him.

"Okay. 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.' Yup." He closed his book, then went red-faced when he realized everyone was looking at him. "What? Inspirational quotes were my dad's forte. Plus, the situation called for it." Kicker shook his head. "Understand, Ironhide?" He asked the mech, who sighed in response. Kicker felt agitated again, and swung his foot into the side of Ironhide's helm, making the bots head twist almost demonically.

"Did you just kick me AGAIN!" The mech snarled, his head rotated upwards. He twisted it back into normal, staring at Kicker. Cooper couldn't decide to laugh or stare in horror at how creepy that was. Kicker, meanwhile was avoiding eye contact with the mech, still unsure of his vision, which had been more voices than images. Ironhide snarled when Kicker gave no response to him. "How would you like it if I kicked you back?" The response that got was a foot to the chest, dinging his armor a bit. Kicker turned away and a sneering grin appeared on his face. "Looks like you're back to normal, Ironhead." He laughed airily, even as Ironhide snarled and shook his fist at the brunette. "You're gonna pay for that!" Kicker darted away, and Ironhide followed after him, intent on maiming the boy. "OKAY! I've had just about ENOUGH of you, kid!" The bot screamed, Kicker's response a loud peal of laughter. Cooper watched them with a bemused look, before he pulled out a camcorder and aimed it at the two, who were now racing each other around the deck. Ion floated down by him, and the red-head paused in his recording to look at her.

"I would ask if Kicker will be okay, but after what I've seen him do..." Ion shrugged grinning like the Chesire cat. "That boy can be as good as anyone when he wants to be." Optimus was also watching them, torn between horror at Ironhide's behavior, and amusement at their current antics.

"Well, it looks like things are back to normal again." He finally commented. Someone spoke up behind him. "So, Optimus, what happened on the moon?" He turned to see Demolisher, away from his guarding post once again. Jetfire jumped in, halting demolisher. "If I were you, Demolisher, I'd show little more respect to your leader." Demolisher scoffed in disgust. "Sorry, but you're still Autobots to me, Jetfire." Turning to the Prime, Demolisher's face gave a small show of concern. "Cyclonus was working on the moon. What's his status?" Optimus went still as his processor worked over-time. Had they even seen the crazy mech to begin with? HotShot came up and answered for his stunned leader. "We...never saw him." Demolisher had a pained look on his face as he responded in a frenzy. "What? Serious! You mean to say that there was no trace of him OR Tidal Wave?" Optimus was taken aback by the panic in the ex-Con's voice. It clicked for Jetfire, who answered next. "To be honest, we never got the chance to search for them." Cooper was secretly listening in with Ion, both pretending to watch Kicker and Ironhide.

Demolisher slumped; it was amazing how small he looked. "No way...we have to go back." Optimus thought for a moment, before inspiration struck. "Wait a minute." Jetfire looked towards the leader. "What is it, sir?" After a moment, Optimus shook his head. "Nevermind." Ion stared at him, those gold eyes cold as she felt the disturbance as well.

[U[V[W-X]Y]Z]

Far away, in a dark clouded place, the space-bridge had opened up, allowing the Terracons to throw the Energon into a wide open space. A crazed maniacal laughter resounded inside the large structure, and at least three different voices began to respond.

"_So_, _what is it that Optimus Prime is thinking? A penny for your thought, Autobot_?" A calm, smooth voice asked to no one in particular. A second voice, heavily laced with insanity and unbalance in its tone, spoke next.

"I think I know! Maybe he's starting to smell the stench of a great Decepticon army, rising from the ashes to challenge his authority!" The second voice laughed insanely at the end of its declaration.

"**But** **don't let me get ahead of myself. He still has a new enemy to deal with**." A third gruff, angry voice snarled. Inside the room where it was, a glowing erupted from the ground around it. "**An** **enemy so powerful, it'll make the Decepticons look like mere children's play things**."(1) A huge machine began to rise from the coils of wires and cables that littered the floor.

The first voice spoke as the mech tore itself free from the ground. "_Allow_ _me to your new advisary, Optimus Prime. An entity so powerful, you won't know what hit you_."

The second voice actually shook in excitement. "Oh **joy**! I can hardly _wait_ for the games to begin!" It erupted into a fresh round of crazed laughter, as the mech, which resembled a scorpion, shook the last dredges of slumber from its conscience, and waved its tail threateningly in the air.

[1[2[3]4]5]

Millions of light-years away, Kicker bolted upward from his bed in shock, gasping for air.

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><p><em><strong>READ AND REVIEW<strong>_! Seriously people, you can favorite this story and put it on watch, but I need review so I know to continue! Otherwise I'm going to stop after the next chapter.

(1): Is that a reference to the toy line I see thar?


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